Marcus Freeman's response to the NFL's perceived interest was not exactly definitive

There were plenty of great reasons for Marcus Freeman to sign a huge extension with Notre Dame. He is 2-0 as the Fighting Irish's head coach in the College Football Playoff. With the Orange Bowl coming up, he is two wins away from Notre Dame's first national championship in well over a generation. Freeman seems to fit what Notre Dame is about, but offers something even a bit cooler.

Heading into the latter part of the 2024 college football season, Freeman reportedly received interest from NFL teams on the prospects of if he would leave South Bend for one of 32. In time, Freeman may go that route, but he just cashed in on his first massive payday as a college head coach. He is not yet 40. One thing is for certain: A big contract is not going to stop an NFL team from poaching him away.

Here is what Freeman said about the NFL interest he received while on SportsCenter last weekend.

"I don't know when they announced it — I can't remember — but about a week or two ago, they announced another long contract here at Notre Dame. So I don't think we have anything to worry about."

And here is the statement Freeman put out after receiving his massive extension from Notre Dame.

"I am grateful for the support of the Board of Trustees, led by John Veihmeyer, President Fr. Bob Dowd, C.S.C., and Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua. The investment they continue to pour into our program is invaluable to our student-athletes and staff. This commitment goes well beyond myself, as they are dedicated to ensuring all aspects of our program are competitive within the upper echelon of college football."

So if it is only money and resources, there may come a day where Freeman could bolt to the NFL.

Marcus Freeman does not officially deny future NFL coaching interest

Look. Freeman is a fantastic head coach in the same region as the utterly dysfunctional Chicago Bears. That was the team that probably had the most perceived interest in him. Two other teams may have had some interest as well, but neither the Cincinnati Bengals or Cleveland Browns opened up in time to potentially pursue the former Ohio State linebacker. So no, it was probably not only one team.

Regardless, Freeman is going to need to win big in the coming years to merit the NFL actively pursuing him. He only briefly dipped his toes into the NFL as a player way back in 2009 and has never been on an NFL coaching staff before. That may not matter as much as it may seem, but keep in mind how big of a disaster Urban Meyer was with Jacksonville, and he won three national championships!

The other big component to consider is that Notre Dame is a private school. This is significant because Notre Dame does not have to publicly disclose how much it pays for its coaches. Freeman will probably command near or at whatever the top of the market is in college football, but Notre Dame could use this to its advantage to fend off any potential NFL poaches that could ever emerge.

Now is not the time for Freeman to play flirt with the NFL, as he has a national championship to win!